Best Zero Waste Deodorants
This post has been updated as of 8/18/2024.
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Deodorant has been one of the hardest zero waste switches I’ve made. I tried my hand at making my own zero waste deodorant with baking soda. EPIC FAIL. I soon found out that baking soda and my skin do not mix. Kudos to the folks who can use baking soda based deodorant. I am not one of them. I even tried an apple cider vinegar water mix before applying the homemade deodorant. No joy. If I do venture to make my own deodorant again, I will NOT use anything that includes baking soda. I have tried zero waste deodorant with Diatomaceous Earth clay, which seems to work well. I found a 10-pound bag of human-grade clay from the pet company Chewy, which I plan to use when I make my own deodorant.
RELATED CONTENT: The Biggest Disposable Plastic Producers in the World.
When I originally wrote this article in 2019 I was primarily focused on lowering my plastic usage. However, my view on the zero waste movement has changed. You can read all the zero waste changes I made in 2023. Instead of being hyper focused on plastics, I’m now focused on the entire life cycle of products I purchase. If you live in a western country then you live in a consumer based society. So what we purchase and how we purchase matters. I’m also focused on the toxicity of products. I’ve recently downloaded this wonderful app called Yuka. Yuka deciphers product labels and analyzes the health impact of food products and cosmetics.
Like many things zero waste, nothing is cheap. Of course, we will bear the cost of wanton disposable plastic use–one day–when the oceans have more plastic than fish. But currently, the average cost of a plastic stick of deodorant is cheap. Plastic stick deodorant ranges from $3 to $12. Zero waste deodorant ranges from $9 to $18 per container. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately) cheap plastic has skewed the true price of everyday things. For various reasons making new plastics is cheaper than recycling. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to recycle. Energy requires both money and resources. So recycling is not without its own environmental costs.
One of my favorite ways to manage hard to recycle items is through Terra Cycle! I personally use Terra Cycle’s all in one zero waste recycling box, but I’m also in some of their free programs. Terra Cycle has a free Home Healthcare program. They take all sorts of brands of home health packaging for free! I’m currently in their free Colgate toothpaste recycling program. Sign up for one of their free programs if you can!
“Like many things zero waste, nothing is cheap.”
I don’t even want to think about all of the plastic sticks of empty deodorant languishing in landfills from my trash bin. So until I can make my own, I spend a little extra money on a zero waste deodorant because it’s economically feasible for me to do so. Native has recently come out with a wonderful deodorant in cardboard tubing for under $12 and is selling in mainstream stores, like Target and Amazon. I am hopeful that more zero waste manufacturers will make products more cost-friendly for working families.
My Favorite Zero Waste Deodorants
Native Deodorant
Native is my current deodorant! The cardboard tubes only come in a few options (mainly coconut and eucalyptus), but I love being able to throw this in my compost bin after I’m done. You can find Native plastic free deodorant in Target, but if you want more scent options purchase directly from the Native website. You can also do a subscribe and save and get 15% off. I love the smell of this deodorant, it’s effectiveness, and it’s plastic free packaging! It’s not greasy, free of aluminum salts, parabens, and phthalates. My favorite part is that it’s sourced from responsibly managed forests, which is a real certification!
Silver Falls Sustainability
I previously used Silver Falls Sustainability deodorant. One 3.25 ounce paper tube is normally priced at $12.99, which is on the upper range of zero waste deodorant. The paper tube is a little larger than other products (most are 2 ounces). Silver Falls Sustainability uses Diatomaceous Earth clay in lieu of baking soda. They also have a ton of other items, like a dish soap bar, plastic free lip balm, compostable sponges, tooth tabs, hair wax, and so much more!
Myro
Myro deodorant is refillable. I recently bought more cardboard Native deodorants, but my next purchase will likely be Myro. My complaint about the cardboard deodorants are hard to apply. The deodorant in the cardboard gets clumped up and unusable. So I can’t wait to try the Myros! You get a free case and starter kit for $15, then pay $10 $26 per scent pod (comes in a pack of 3 2). When it comes to zero waste deodorant this price is not bad. Sadly like everything the prices have gone up! If you sign up for the newsletter you can get 25% off.
Weleda
Weleda has a spray deodorant with a plastic cap similar to a perfume bottle. At $14 $15 per bottle, it’s not too bad, but still on the higher end. The prices haven’t gone up too much. I added this one in 2019 when I didn’t know as much as I do now about non-recyclable glass and how it’s problematic to recycle. I probably wouldn’t recommend it in 2024, but since this in a spray bottle this deodorant is likely to last longer than most stick deodorants.
Meow Meow Tweet
Meow Meow Tweet is the also a low waste deodorant I have come across in a major retail chain like Target. It was previously in glass but they have switched to cardboard and aluminum tins. At $14 $16/container it’s not the cheapest, but it may be the most accessible.
Primal Pit Paste
Primal Pit Paste is available on Amazon. Averaging at $9 $14/per 2 ounce jar, it’s less expensive than some of the others. It comes in a glass jar with a plastic cap. They’ve also developed a cardboard tube version for $7 and an aluminum tin for $4. You can get 15% off if you sign up for their newsletter.
RELATED CONTENT: Zero Waste Juice for Kids.
Ethique
Ethique is also sold on Amazon and even has a subscribe and save option (which gives you a 5% to 15% discount). Ethique used to have a deodorant bar, but now they’ve switched to cardboard tubes. Every little savings helps because Ethique sells for about $18 $14/deodorant bar. They’ve actually lowered their prices! I’m not sure if the tubes are smaller than the $18 bar. If you do Subscribe and Save then the price drops even more.
Ben & Anna
If you’re in Europe check out Ben & Anna, which is also in a cardboard tube. It’s sold in Europe, the UK, Australia, Africa, South America, and North America. Pretty much everywhere except the U.S. 🙁 It sells for €7,95 €5.99 euros per tube. You can purchase a 6-pack for €39,95 (€29,95), which brings the individual price down to €6,65 €4,99 a tube. Yes, they’ve lowered their prices! I’m not sure if the tubes are smaller or not. The new tubes are 149,75 €/kg.
No Pong
No Pong is an Australian based company that sells a reasonably priced deodorant cream in a tin can. Chris and Melanie were tired of seeing deodorants in plastic so they decided to create their own! Aussies use over 10,000,000 plastic packaged deodorants every year, just from supermarkets! They ship internationally. Their deodorants range from $5.95 $6 to $6.96 $9 (Australian dollars). Nopong is a fantastic option for the budget-conscious zero waster, however, you may wish to consider the emissions when purchasing products internationally versus domestically.
Chagrin Valley Soap
Chagrin Valley Soap sells a variety of zero waste deodorant. Like many others on this list, it’s cruelty-free and certified organic. They have a 2-ounce paper tube of deodorant for $12.50 and a 2.2-ounce jar for $9.65. With regard to price, they are middle of the road for zero waste deodorants.
Lush
Lush seems to be the most popular zero waste company in the market, so it’s not surprising that their prices are lower than most. Their shampoo and conditioning bars seem to be quite popular. They also have a deodorant bar for the very reasonable price of $6.95.
Fit Pit
FitPit is sold from an Etsy shop in the UK, so shipping costs are likely more expensive. The GreenWomanUk sells three 25 ml travel jars for €11.68. She also sells a 100 ml (3.33 ounces) for €9.34 . Unfortunately, she does not ship to the U.S.
Nuud
Honorable Mention – Nuud deodorant is a deodorant company based in the Netherlands. They sell a deodorant cream in a sugar cane plastic tube. A sugar cane tube of Nuud costs €12.95 ($14.75). They ship all over the world, including the U.S. A pack of two is cheaper at €24.95 ($28.41).
Plant-based plastics are frequently heralded as biodegradable…well, everything is biodegradable–after hundreds or thousands of years. The term biodegradable is greenwashing. Plant-based plastics do not degrade at a faster rate than regular plastics. You can learn more about plant-based plastics here. To be absorbed into the environment, plant-based plastics have to be commercially composted. They typically cannot be recycled through municipal recycling, however, Nuud insists it can be.
“The term ‘biodegradable’ is greenwashing.”
The cap is also regular plastic. I contacted Nuud about their packaging. The company was polite and helpful. I asked about their plastic use. They are very responsive and seem to care about emissions. They are working hard on making the product more sustainable. You can see Nuud’s response below:
“Our tubes are made of sugarcane. Technically it’s still plastic (renewable bioplastic to be exact), but it doesn’t have many of the downsides of regular plastic. They are produced 100% CO2 neutral and they are 100% recyclable through regular plastic waste. The growing of the sugarcane filters the air for CO2 and it needs little water and space. The stuff used to make the bioplastic from is actually a byproduct of the sugarcane, which would otherwise hardly be used.
We thought about biodegradable plastic, but it turned out it’s not as good for our planet as you’d think. Biodegradable plastic is as of now extremely hard to recycle and it often ends up in the regular plastic waste stream, messing up the whole batch and making it practically unusable. Also, its degradable characteristics mean you’ll have to keep producing new plastic, causing more CO2 emission than you’d want. We also considered glass jars, but having to take nuud out with your fingers would result in bacteria getting in contact with the cream, making it less effective over time.
The lid is made of regular plastic. We tried and tried and tried to design a lid that could be made of sugarcane, but no matter how hard we tried, the lid would just crumble apart with a tiny bit of force. We always keep an eye on the latest developments in the bioplastics field, and as soon as there’s a promising invention, we’ll be the first to give it a go!“
I hope you’ve enjoyed my list of deodorants. I’m sure there are many more I haven’t yet discovered. Drop me a tweet @msquare1 and let me know your favorite.
#zerowasteliving, #plasticfree, #deodorant, #ecofriendly